Vincent Keymer stays on top after draw with Arjun

CHENNAI: Ahead of the Chennai Grand Masters, Vincent Keymer told TOI his immediate goal is to get himself in good shape in classical chess to qualify for the Candidates and promised to give his all. After six rounds here, the young German GM is still unvanquished and well on course towards his target.

On Tuesday, the headline clash between table-topper Keymer and top seed Arjun Erigaisi concluded in a gripping stalemate, leaving the German (4.5 points) clinging to a one-point lead with three rounds to spare. Playing with black, Arjun chose the ‘Slav defence’ against Keymer’s ‘queen’s pawn’ opening. Keymer appeared well-prepared and and established a promising advantage.

As the game unfolded, much of Keymer’s advantage gradually slipped away with Arjun deliberately complicating the positions. Known for thriving under pressure, Arjun defended with remarkable precision and even maintained composure in a scenario where a single misstep could have ended the game within 10 moves.

While Keymer held early momentum, time trouble and minor inaccuracies allowed Arjun to claw back. Opting for a practical approach, Arjun played on Keymer’s clock rather than hunting for perfect moves and ran away with the half-a-point.

With the race still tight, Keymer will next face Awonder Liang (3.5), who surged into the joint-second spot alongside Arjun (3.5). At the same time, Awonder crossed the coveted 2700 rating mark after a commanding win over V Pranav with black pieces.

While the spotlight was on the Arjun-Keymer clash, on the adjacent board, close friends Anish Giri and Vidit Gujrathi waged a fierce battle before ultimately settling for a draw in their 109-move marathon. The Indian pushed hard with some aggressive play and came agonisingly close to victory after an error by Anish but fell short. The game ended peacefully when both players agreed to a rook trade that secured the draw.

“In the middlegame, Anish got ambitious and sacrificed a pawn. In my opinion, it was a dubious idea and I feel I had excellent chances after that. There was one moment in the game where I felt I was even winning objectively. Draw is an okay result but from the position I had, I feel I lost a golden chance to win,” said Vidit.

In challengers, M Pranesh brought Abhimanyu Puranik’s unbeaten run to an end. With his victory, Pranesh joined Abhimanyu at the summit, alongside Leon Mendonca, who also secured a crucial win over Aryan Chopra, creating a tight three-way contest for the title.

Results: Round 6: Masters: Arjun Erigaisi drew with Vincent Keymer; Awonder Liang bt V Pranav; Vidit Gujrathi drew with Anish Giri; Jorden van Foreest bt Nihal Sarin; Karthikeyan Murali drew with Ray Robson. Challengers: M Pranesh bt Abhimanyu Puranik; Leon Mendonca bt Aryan Chopra; D Harika bt R Vaishali; B Adhiban bt Diptayan Ghosh; Pa Iniyan drew with GB Harshavardhan.


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